Apparatus for providing a sailboat with an auxiliary stern mast and sail

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for providing a sailboat which does not have a conventional stern mast and sail but which has a stern railing with an auxiliary stern mast and sail. Reinforcing members are provided for reinforcing the stern railing and connecting members can be connected to the stern railing for connecting the auxiliary stern mast to the stern railing. The apparatus permits a conventional sloop to be maintained with sloop rig for competitive purposes and yet to be readily converted into a yawl with its inherent superior cruising characteristics.

United States Patent 1191 Sweeney l l APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING A SAILBOAT WITH AN AUXILIARY STERN MAST ANI) SAIL I76] Inventor: 'lhom'as E. Sweeney, 95 Hartley Ave., Princeton, NJ. 08540 22 Filed: Mar. 23,- 1973 121 1 Appl. 190.; 344,438

52 us. c1. 114/39 [51] Int. Cl B63b 35/00 [58] Field of Search 114/39, 90, 91, I02

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,132,620 5 1964 Court .I 114 39 3,191,569 Coombc 114/102 1451 Mar. 5, 1974 Primary lfxamim'rlrygvc M. Blix Attorney, Agent, or I"irmMichael W. York l 57 l ABSTRACT An apparatus for providing a sailhoat which does not have a conventional stern mast and sail but which has a stern railing with an auxiliary stern mast and sail] Reinforcing members are provided for reinforcing, the stern railing and connecting members can be connected to the stern railing for connecting the auxiliary stern mast t0 the stern railing. The. apparatus permits a conventional sloop to be maintained with sloop rig for competitive purposes and yet to be readily converted into a yawl with its inherent superior cruisingcharacteristics.

9 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 1- APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING A SAILBOAT WITH AN AUXILIARY STERN MAST AND SAIL BACKGROUND-OF THE INVENTION erly the ship or vessel or normally designed at its incep- I tion to carry a mizzen mast and'associated sail. As would be expected the additional design and construction required to handle a mizzen-mast and sail adds to the cost of the boat or vessel. An example of a sailing vessel havinga mizzen sail is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 1,813,937.

Most of the modern sailing yachts are, for economic and other reasons, designed as sloops or single masted craft Without a mizzen mast. Racing classes have been set up and the rules associated with such classes quite rigidly define the configuration and sail plan for boats in a particular class. Consequently, it is necessary for boat owners who are interested in racing to maintain the sloop rig for competition purposes. However, most modern'sailing yachts are advertized and sold as combined racing and family cruising craft and areindeed usually used in this manner.

Unfortunately, the sloop ring which is necessary for competition does not result'in the superior cruising boat with increased maneuverability and easeof-handlin g and other favorable characteristics.available from the yawl rigged boat or a boat having a.mizzen mast and associated sail. As a consequence, the common sailing yacht owner-who has a sloop rigged boat has up until now been required to be content with an inferior cruising boat. In order to obtain a superior cruising boat, it

was necessary to spend the additional money necessary for a yawl, or a boat having a mizzen mast and then be purposes since the yawl was not readily convertable into a sloop rigged boat for competition.

The present invention overcomes these problems associated with the bulkof the sailing yachts which have I been designed as sloops and permits such a yacht a boat so that it can receive a removable mast and asso ciated sail are by no means new. An example of such a kitis presented in U .S. Pat. No. '3,04l,994 which describesa kit for providing a canoewith a main mast and sail for converting it .into a single masted sail boat. US Pat. No. 3,191,569 discloses another perhaps more unusual kit or rig which provides an outboard motor boat with a sailing rig which connects to the boat in a manner similar to an outboard motor.

However, a kit for providing a sailing vessel or sail boat which has a main mast with an auxiliary mizzen or stem mounted mast has not heretofor been suggested in the prior art, perhaps due to at least some extent the apparent inability to mount such a mizzen mast and sail in view of the usual practice with sloop rigged sailboats of rigging a backstay from the upper portion of the main mast to the center of the transom at the stern of the boat. Such a backstay would ordinarily appear to interfere with a mizzen sail and to preclude its use. The apparent problems associated with rigid competitive class rules, apparent problems associated with hull strength requirements for an additional sail may also have at least partially accounted for the lack of such prior art systems.

It should be noted that wind operated rudder devices such as the devices disclosed in US Pat. Nos. 2,] l2,l7l and 3,180,298 have been proposed in the past, but such devices are steering devices and not sails and they do not function in the same manner or provide the advantages associated with the present invention and should not be confused with the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONOF THE INVENTION This invention relates to sailing vessels or sailboats and more particularly to sailing vessels or sailboats which have a stern mounted mast and associated sail.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which can-be utilized to readily add an additional. mast near the stern of a sailing vessel.

It is also an object of the present invention toprovide an apparatus which permits an auxiliary-sternmast to be readily added to or removed from a sailing vessel.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for conveniently converting a sloop into a yawl.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which permits a sailing vessel to meet competitive sailing class regulations for a sailing vessel without a stern mast and yet be convertable into a sailing vessel having improved characteristics for superior cruising.

It is a further object of the present invention to pro vide an apparatus which permits an auxiliary stern mast to be mounted on a sailing vessel without requiring structural modification of the hull of the sailing vessel.

.-It is an additional object of the present invention to provide an apparatus in which a conventional stern railing on a sailing vessel is utilized to receive the loads imposed on the vessel by a mizzen or stern mast and associated sail. v v

I It is a further object of the present invention to provide an appaatus which permits amizzen or stem mast and associated sail to be mounted on a sloop having a conventional backstay without interfering with or rcquiring the removal of the backstay.

The present invention provides an apparatus for pro viding a sailing vessel or boat with an auxiliary stem or mizzen mast for a stem or mizzen sail. Reinforcing means are added to the stern portion of the sailing vessel for receiving the loads which will be imposed by the stern mast and means are also added to the stern portion of the sailing vessel for removably receiving and connecting the auxiliary stem or mizzen mast to the sailing vessel. Means are also provided for controlling the auxiliary stern mast and sail.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be hereinafter more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, partly broken away, of a sloop converted into a yawl with the mizzen mast of the present invention; 7

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the stern railing of the sailing vessel illustrated in FIG. 1 with certain parts omitted for clarity illustrating the means for attaching the mizzen mast to the stern railing and the reinforcing means of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of part of the stern railing and attaching means illustrated in FIG. 2 with the mizzen mast in place;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a portion of the mizzen mast illustrated in FIG. 3 taken on the line 4-4 thereof; and

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the stern of the sailing vessel illustrated in FIG. 1 illustrating the mizzen mast and associated mizzen sail in position for sailing downwind, commonly called running before the wind.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In FIG. 1, a conventional sloop type sailing vessel is illustrated and designated genenrally by the number 10. The vessel has a hull 11 ad a cabin 12 located on the upper-side of the hull. The vessel also has-a main mast 13, a main sail 14, an associated boom 15 and ajib 16 which are connected to the main mast in a conventional manner. A conventional backstay 17 extends from the top of the main mast 13 to the stern transom of the hull 11. A lifeline, such as the lifeline 18, is located near each side of the deck on the hull 11 and a forward railing 19 is provided at the bow which forms a bow pulpit. A conventional stern railing 20 is also provided at the stern of the vessel 10. Thus far the sailing vessel 10. has been described as it existed in its usual or unaltered configuration. However, as best illustrated in FIG. 1, a stem or mizzen mast 21 with its associated mizzen sail 22 has been added using the conversion apparatus-or conversion kit of the invention so that the conventional sllop type yacht has been converted into a sailing vessel having both a main mast and a stem or mizzen mast which is commonly called a yawl.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the backstay 17 which extends from near the top of the main mast 13 to the stern of the hull 11 would appear to prevent or at least severely interfere with any attempt to add an additional mast and sail near the stern of the vessel 10. However, this invention provides means generally designated by the number 23 which are connectable to the aft portion of stem railing 20 for connecting the stern mast 21 to the stern of the hull ll of the vessel 10. Since the mizzen mast 21 is connected through these connecting means 23 to the aft portion of the stern railing 20, the mizzen mast does. not in any way interferewith the backstay 17 since it projects upward at a location.

which is rearward of the rearmost location of the backstay..

The construction of the stern railing 20 and the means for attaching the mizzen mast 21 to the stern railing are best illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. The unmodified stern railing 20- comprises a rail 24 which is semi-U-shaped to generally conform to the exterior shape of the aft portion of the hull l1 and a metal post 25 extends downward from the aft port portion of the stern railing and another similar metal post 26 also extends downward from the aft starboard portion of the stern rail to support and strengthen the stern rail and to give it rigidity. The lower ends of the posts 25 and 26 and also the lower ends of the forward portions of the rail, such as the lower end of the forward portion designated 27, which are bent downward, are rigidly secured to the aft portion of the hull 11 by suitable fasteners known in the art.

Thus far the stern railing 20 has been described it was originally constructed in its unaltered form. However, as illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the existing railing 20 is reinforced by means for receiving the loads from the mizzen mast 21 generally designated by the number 28 comprising the elongated hollow tubular reinforcing members 29 and 30 and the diagonal cables 31 and 32. The members 29 and 30 have their respective upper ends welded to the respective upper ends of the posts 25 and 26 and the adjacent portions of the rail 24 and their lower ends are welded to respective forward ends of the rail 24.,The upper ends of the cables ened by using the turnbuckles 31A and 32A and the cables can even be removed if desired when no mizzen mast is attachedto the stern railing 20. The cables 31 and 32 and associated turnbuckles can also be used to vertically align the mizzen mast 21 in the transverse plane by appropriately adjusting the turnbuckles when the mast is connected to the stern railing 20.

The diagonally mounted members 29 and 30 reinforce the aft railing 20 against loads imposed on the railing by the mizzen mast 21 in a generally forward direction and the diagonally crossed cables 31 and 32 reinforce the aft railing against loads imposed on the railing by the mizzen mast in generally starboard to port or the port to starboard direction. If desired the cables 31 and 32 could be replaced by diagonally'mounted hollow reinforcing members (not shown) extending upward and outward from the center of the tubular memher 33 to form a V-shaped structure. However, the use of such reinforcing members would not permit the adjustments which are obtainable with the cables 31 and 32 and the associated turnbuckles 31A and 32A.

The means 23 located on the stern portion of the sailing vessel 10 for removably receiving and for connect ing the stem or mizzen mast 21 and best illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. The receiving and connecting means 23 comprise an upper horizontally mounted upper bearin'gplate 34 which is welded to the aft portion of the rail 24 and a horizontally mounted lower bearing plate 35 which is welded to the horizontal member 33.

A machined nylon bushing 36 is located in an aperture in the bearing plate 34 and is connected to the bearing plate by suitable bolts. The nylon bushing 36 has a circular aperature 37 which is of suitable size to removably receivethe lowerportion'38 of the mizzen mast 21. A machined nylon bearing block 39 is located on and is attached to the lower bearing plate 35 by suitable nuts and bolts. A machined cylindrical projection 40 is located on the upper side of the bearing block 39. This projection 40 is shaped and adapted to fit in a cylindrical aperature 41 in the lower portion 38 of the mizzen mast 21. The use of nylon as the material for the bushing 36 and the bearing block 39 provides the required strength to resist the loads imposed by the'mizzen mast and yet the use of nylon greatly reduces friction and permits the mizzen mast 21 to freely rotate. Although nylon is preferred as a material for'the bushing 36 and the bearing block 39, other suitable synthetic materials such as Micarta may be used.

As illustrated in FIGSJ3 and 4, the lowerportion 38 of the mizzen mast 21 has a circular cross section whereas the upper portion 42 has a conventional streamlined cross section which is semi-teardrop shaped which gives the upper portion of the mizzen mastfavorable areodynamic characteristics.

As best illustrated in FIG. 5, means 43 for controlling the mizzen mast 21 are operatively connected to the mizzen mast and include a control horn.44 which isrigidly connected to the lower portion'of the upper portion 42 of the mizzen mastpThe control born 44 has two outward extending diverging members 45 and 46 on the aft portion of the vessel 10, the lower end portion 38 of the stern mast 21 may be connected to the railing of the aft portion of the vessel by inserting it into the stern mast connecting and receiving means when it is desired to add a stern mast to the vessel, such as when it is desired to convert the vessel into a superior cruising vessel. The turnbuekles 31A and 32A associated with the cables 31 and 32 can be adjusted to vertically align the mizzen mast 21 in the transverse plan if the cables are used. If desired, the vessel 10 can then be used for cruising with the mizzen sail 22 in conjunction with the mizzen mast 21, r

I When it is desired to sail the vessel 10 with the mizzen mast 21 and sail 22, the appropriate sheet 50 or 51 is either let out or pulled in to move the mizzen sail to present the mizzen sail at an appropriate angle with respect to the center line of the sailing boat. As illustrated which also slant downward as they extend from the mast.' Cables 47'and 48 extend from the respective outer ends of the members 45 and 56 to the end of the mizzen rnast boom 49. Rope's'50 and 51, commonly called mizzen sheets, are connected to and extend forward from the outer ends of the respective members 45 and 46. These ropes, or sheets, 50 and'5l then pass through the respective swivel pulleys v52 and 53 which are connected to the top of the rail 24, -In view ofthis arrangement, it is apparent that the free end of the ap-' propriate sheet 50 or 51 can be pulled inward to cause the horn 44, cables 47 and 48, boom 49 and the mizzen sail 22 to pivot to the appropriate side about the mizzenmast 21.

In order to use this invention, the means for longitubuckles 31A and 32A are connected to the stern railing. It should be appreciated that in the event the existing railing 20 has sufficient strength and rigidity either longitudinally or laterally, then the appropriate longitudinal or lateral reinforcing means can be omitted. Of course, both the lateral and longitudinal reinforcing means can be omitted if the existing stern railing 20 .has sufficient strength .and rigidity in both directions.

Meansfor removably receiving. and connecting the stern mast 21 to the stern railing 20 of the stern of the vessel 10 including the upper. bearing plate 34 and the lower bearing are also connected to the stern railing by welding and they may be connected to the railing at the same time any reinforcing means are connected to the stern railing.

After any reinforcing means and the means for connecting the stern mast have been added to the railing in FIG. 5 the sail 22 is set at approximately a 90 angle with respect to the centerline of the boat which is the appropriate position for sailing downwind or before the wind. When the sheets 50 and 51 have been let out or pulledv in sufficiently to properly present the mizzen sail 22, they are fastened to the usual cleats (not shown) to lock the mizzen sail at the desired angle.

The stem rnast 21 may then be removed from the stern'mast connecting and receiving meanswhenever it is desired to convert the vessel back into essentially its original configuration without any stern mast, such as when it is desired to use the sailing vessel 10 for competitive purposes. The vessel 10 can then be utilized in competition without its stern mast 21 and associated stem or mizzen sail as desired to meet the competitive rules which apply to such sailing craft having a single mainmast and no aft or mizzen mast.

It should be noted that any aft railing reinforcing means and connecting means for connecting the aftor mizzen mast to the aft portion of the vessel can remain attached to the railing 20 even though the mizzen mast 21 and associated sail 22 have been removed since the connecting means and any reinforcing means will not interfere with the use of the vessel 10 during competition or when it is otherwise used without an auxiliary ,aft or mizzen mast.

In order to protect against corrosion, the reinforcing members 29 and 30 and the upper and lower bearing plates 34 and 35 should be constructed from stainless steel particularly when the sailingvessel is to be used in salt water; j

Although the invention has been described with reference to a certain preferred embodiment, it should be understood that many variations and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

I 1. An auxiliary sail sailboat conversion kit for providing a sailboat which has a hull, a main mast, and a stern railing connected to the stern portion of the hull, but which lacks any stern mast with a removable auxiliary stern mast and sail comprising a removable auxiliary 2. The auxiliary sail sailboat conversion kit of claim 1 further comprising means operatively connected to said stern railing for vertically aligning said auxiliary stern mast.

3. The auxiliary sail sailboat conversion kit of claim 2 wherein said means for vertically aligning said auxiliary stern mast comprises at least one cable member and associated turnbuckle member.

4. The auxiliary sail sailboat conversion kit of claim 1 wherein said means for controlling the position of said auxiliary stern sail comprises a control horn memher having outward extending arm members operatively connected to said auxiliary stern 'mast.

5. The auxiliary sail sailboat conversion kit of claim 4 further comprising a boom connected to said auxiliary stern sail and wherein said means for controlling the position of said auxiliary stern sail further combars to cause rotation of said control horn member and said auxiliary stern mast.

' 7. The auxiliary sail sailboat conversion kit of claim 1 further comprising means connectable to said stern railing for reinforcing said stern railing against the loads imposed by said auxiliary stern mast.

8. The auxiliary sail sailboat conversion kit of claim 1 wherein said means connectable to the stern railing of said sailboat for removably attaching said auxiliary stern mast to the stern railing of said sailboat comprises means connectable to the lower rear portion of said stern railing for rotatably receiving and supporting the lower end ofi said auxiliary stern mast and means connectable to the upper rear portion of said stern railing for removably receiving a lower portion of said auxiliary stern mast.

9. The auxiliary sail sailboat conversion kit of claim 8 wherein said auxiliary stern mast has a hollow lower end portion and wherein said means for rotatably receiving andsupporting the lower end of said auxiliary stern mast comprises a bearing member having a projection, said projection being shaped to fit within the hollow'lower end portion of said auxiliary stern mast. i 

1. An auxiliary sail sailboat conversion kit for providing a sailboat which has a hull, a main mast, and a stern railing connected to the stern portion of the hull, but which lacks any stern mast with a removable auxiliary stern mast and sail comprising a removable auxiliary stern mast, means connectable to the stern railing of said sailboat for removably attaching said auxiliary stern mast to the stern railing of said sailboat, an auxiliary stern sail adapted to be connected to said auxiliary stern mast, and means operatively connected to said auxiliary stern mast for controlling the position of said auxiliary stern sail.
 2. The auxiliary sail sailboat conversion kit of claim 1 further comprising means operatively connected to said stern railing for vertically aligning said auxiliary stern mast.
 3. The auxiliary sail sailboat conversion kit of claim 2 wherein said means for vertically aligning said auxiliary stern mast comprises at least one cable member and associated turnbuckle member.
 4. The auxiliary sail sailboat conversion kit of claim 1 wherein said means for controlling the position of said auxiliary stern sail comprises a control horn member having outward extending arm members operatively connected to said auxiliary stern mast.
 5. The auxiliary sail sailboat conversion kit of claim 4 further comprising a boom connected to said auxiliary stern sail and wherein said means for controlling the position of said auxiliary stern sail further comprises connecting means connected to said boom for connecting the outer portion of each arm member to the outer end portion of said boom.
 6. The auxiliary sail sailboat conversion kit of claim 5 wherein said means for controlling the position of said auxiliary stern sail further comprises means extending forward from the outer end portions of said arm members for exerting forces upon said arm members to cause rotation of said control horn member and said auxiliary stern mast.
 7. The auxiliary sail sailboat conversion kit of claim 1 further comprising means connectable to said stern railing for reinforcing said stern railing against the loads imposed by said auxiliary stern mast.
 8. The auxiliary sail sailboat conversion kit of claim 1 wherein said means connectable to the stern railing of said sailboat for removably attaching said auxiliary stern mast to the stern railing of said sailboat comprises means connectable to the lower rear portion of said stern railing for rotatably receiving and supporting the lower end of said auxiliary stern mast and means connectable to the upper rear portion of said stern railing for removably receiving a lower portion of said auxiliary stern mast.
 9. The auxiliary sail sailboat conversion kit of claim 8 wherein said auxiliary stern mast has a hollow lower end portion and wherein said means for rotatably receiving and supporting the lower end of said auxiliary stern mast comprises a bearing member having a projection, said projection being shaped to fit within the hollow lower end portion of said auxiliary stern mast. 